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2016-10-18 18:17:21

EBAY

eBay

$31.64

-0.17 (-0.53%)

, PYPL

PayPal

$39.83

0.35 (0.89%)

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10/18/16

10/18

18:17

10/18/16

18:17

StubHub seen driving eBay's growth, WSJ reports

EBay's (EBAY) turnaround without PayPal (PYPL) is materializing with StubHub as the new growth driver, the Wall Street Journal reports. eBay's overall sales have risen for two consecutive quarters, a trend that Wall Street expects will continue when the company reports third-quarter results, part of which can be attributed to StubHub's recent success, the WSJ added. Reference Link

Citi analyst Lucio Aldworth sees several reasons why eBay's (EBAY) sale of a majority of its stake in MercadoLibre (MELI) creates a "large overhang" on the latter's shares. Namely, he believes the market has always seen eBay as a plausible candidate to take over MercadoLibre, but he thinks this action should remove any M&A premium currently priced into the stock. Additionally, Aldworth notes that eBay said its commitment to Latin America e-commerce remains unchanged, which could mean it will eventually enter the market directly, intensifying competition for MercadoLibre. Aldworth keeps a Sell rating on MercadoLibre shares, which are down 8% in early trading to $168.40.

10/13/16

10/13/16INITIATION

On The Fly: Top five analyst initiations

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Aaron's (AAN) initiated with a Buy at Jefferies. 2. eBay (EBAY) and Etsy (ETSY) coverage assumed with a Neutral at Wedbush. 3. Five Below (FIVE) and Dollar Tree (DLTR) were initiated with an Overweight at KeyBanc while the firm initiated Dollar General (DG) with a Sector Weight. 4. Baxter (BAX) initiated with an Outperform at Wells Fargo. 5. Symantec (SYMC) initiated with an Outperform at FBN Securities. This list is just a portion of The Fly's analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

Baird analyst Colin Sebastian said eBay's (EBAY) sale of a majority of its investment stake in MercadoLibre (MELI) will provide eBay with both financial and strategic flexibility. The analyst believes the capital will allow eBay to increase share buybacks, make strategic acquisitions, or expand more aggressively in Latin America under a new strategic agreement with MercadoLibre. Sebastian maintained his Outperform rating and $35 price target on eBay shares.

10/13/16

WEDB

10/13/16INITIATIONWEDBNeutral

eBay coverage assumed with a Neutral at Wedbush

Wedbush analyst Aaron Turner says that eBay's e-commerce initiatives should help slow its market share erosion. However, the analyst prefers to keep a Neutral rating on the shares until the company shows that its "recent growth is sustainable and/or accelerating." Target to $34 from $29.

Evercore ISI analyst David Togut assumed coverage on PayPal with a Buy rating and a $46 price target.

10/11/16

JEFF

10/11/16NO CHANGETarget $48JEFFBuy

PayPal Q3 results could be positive catalyst, says Jefferies

Jefferies analyst Jason Kupferberg believes PayPal's Q3 results on October 20 would be a positive catalyst for the shares. The analyst expects a "solid" quarter and still views PayPal as the best way to play digital/online payments. He keeps a Buy rating on the shares with a $48 price target.

10/05/16

BERN

10/05/16NO CHANGEBERNMarket Perform

Bernstein lays out six possible strategic outcomes for PayPal

After hosting a call to discuss PayPal's (PYPL) strategic options following its recently announced deals with Visa (V) and MasterCard (MA), Bernstein analyst Lisa Ellis laid out the potential strategic outcomes for PayPal that she foresees. In order from most to least likely: the most likely outcome PayPal's business model remains but that it shifts to debit centric vs. ACH; it is less likely, but a risk, that PayPal becomes a merchant acquirer; even less likely is that PayPal becomes a closed-loop. The chance that PayPal is acquired is "unlikely but less so" after the deals with the card majors, Ellis added. Lastly, she sees a "low probability" PayPal withers away or that it morphs into something else via acquisition. The firm has a Market Perform rating on PayPal shares.